promoearn: Think twice about riding in the back seat

Thursday, April 25

Some of the more than 30,000 law enforcement officers who have lost their state certification.

Cops beat people, lied and dealt drugs. Now see their records.

Thousands of police misconduct records were exposed, and Sri Lanka bombing suspects remain at large. Here's Thursday's top news.

Biden's in the race, suspected bombers are at large and the back seat may not be as safe as we thought. It's Ashley. It's Thursday. Here's Short List.

But first, this is fine: Americans say they're more stressed out than people in Chad, the world's most pain-stricken country. Cool, cool, cool. Let's talk about some stressful things.

85,000 officers investigated. We've got their files.

Some officers have beaten people, planted evidence and harassed women. Others have lied, stolen, dealt drugs, driven drunk and abused their spouses. The public entrusts police to protect them but rarely hears when they hide misdeeds behind the badge. USA TODAY is changing that. Today, we published an investigation showing at least 85,000 law enforcement officers across the USA have been investigated or disciplined for misconduct in the past decade. We spent more than a year creating the biggest collection of police misconduct records, showing not only why thousands of officers have been banned from their professions but also how many of them escape their pasts in one place to become police chief somewhere else.

•	Search the list of more than 30,000 police officers banned by 44 states

Biden's in, but Anita Hill's not having it

Joe Biden's long-awaited 2020 presidential campaign bid launched Thursday, making him one of 20 Democrats vying to become nominee. Thanks to the former vice president's name recognition, the 76-year-old has polled among Democratic front-runners for months. But controversy erupted for Biden after four women claimed he inappropriately touched them without permission. Biden spoke with Anita Hill to express regret for how she was treated during Senate hearings on Clarence Thomas in 1991. Hill told The New York Times she "cannot be satisfied" with Biden's words.

More on Biden's (third) presidential run:

•	President Donald Trump "welcomed" Biden to the race by insulting his intelligence and promising a "nasty" fight for the White House. He called him "Sleepy Joe."
•	Former President Barack Obama also welcomed Biden but declined to formally endorse him. Why? Biden says he asked Obama not to. Well, OK.
•	20 Democrats are a lot: If you're having trouble keeping track of everyone running for president (so far), this interactive guide will help.

Former Vice President Joe Biden

Frank Franklin II/AP

Sri Lanka bombing suspects are still out there

Sri Lanka's leader said Thursday that suspects in the Easter Sunday bombing attack that killed at least 253 people are still at large and may be carrying explosives. The U.S. Embassy in Colombo urged people "to remain vigilant and avoid large crowds," especially at worship services for various faiths from Friday to Sunday. Many Catholic churches in Sri Lanka closed and canceled Mass upon advice from officials. At least 58 people have been detained in connection with the bombings, among the world's worst terrorist attacks since 9/11, in which almost 3,000 people died.

Relatives cry at the graveside during a funeral April 24 for a victim of the Easter Sunday bombings in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Atul Loke, Getty Images

Real quick

•	At least five people are dead after violent storms, floods and tornadoes ripped through the South.
•	Where the money at? Twitter. Twitter users make more money than U.S. adults overall, a study shows.
•	The Baylor Bears will be the first female sports team – and the first basketball team – to get its own championship celebration at the Trump White House.
•	Jenna Bush Hager revealed she suffered an ectopic pregnancy.
•	Michael Cohen was secretly recorded by actor Tom Arnold talking about his crimes and Trump.
•	She belittled nurses by saying some played cards at work, then this Washington state lawmaker was mailed 1,700 decks of playing cards.

We call shotgun.

Sitting in the back seat? You could be at greater risk of dying or suffering serious injury in a head-on collision than someone sitting in front, according to federal safety regulators. That's from an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study released Thursday that found rear passengers often lack sufficient protections in frontal crashes. In some crashes, poorly engineered seat belts killed or badly injured back-seat passengers while front-seat passengers in the same vehicle survived or avoided serious injury.

North Korea took an American captive. Then they sent a bill.

North Korea sent the United States a $2 million bill for Otto Warmbier's medical care when he was released from captivity in 2017, according to The Washington Post. Warmbier, 21, a college student from Ohio, died shortly after being returned to his family after 15 months in captivity in North Korea. "The bill went to the Treasury Department, where it remained – unpaid – throughout 2017, the people said. However, it is unclear whether the Trump administration later paid the bill, or whether it came up during preparations for Trump's two summits with Kim Jong Un," the Post reported.

American student Otto Warmbier, center, is escorted at the Supreme Court in Pyongyang, North Korea on March 16, 2016. North Korea sentenced Warmbier, a 21-year-old University of Virginia undergraduate student, from Wyoming, Ohio, to 15 years in prison with hard labor for subversion. He allegedly attempted to steal a propaganda banner from a restricted area of his hotel.

Jon Chol Jin , Jon Chol Jin, AP

Judge allegedly helped a migrant flee

A Massachusetts judge was charged for allegedly allowing an undocumented immigrant to escape ICE agents through a back door at the courthouse and lying to a grand jury about what happened. The charges against the judge marked an escalation in the federal government's strict immigration enforcement policy and in its battles with states and local governments that shelter migrants. A lawyer for the ACLU called the charges "very aggressive."

Alia Dastagir chipped in on this compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Want this snappy news roundup in your inbox every night? Sign up for "The Short List" newsletter here.